# Batman: Resurrection
**Batman: Resurrection** is a novel by John Jackson Miller, published by Random House Worlds on October 15, 2024, that continues the story of [Tim Burton](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-burton)'s 1989 film *Batman* in prose. It is a direct sequel to the movie and is set between it and its 1992 follow-up *Batman Returns*, following Batman and [Gotham City](https://www.edgepedia.org/gotham-city) in the months after the Joker's death.[1](https://farawaypress.com/fiction/batmanresurrection/) • [2](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-89-official-sequel-novel-released-this-week-get-a-nice-discount-at-amazon/1100-6525662/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Author / publisher | John Jackson Miller; Random House Worlds[1](https://farawaypress.com/fiction/batmanresurrection/) |
| Release | October 15, 2024, in print, e-book, and audiobook; 336 pages[1](https://farawaypress.com/fiction/batmanresurrection/) • [2](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-89-official-sequel-novel-released-this-week-get-a-nice-discount-at-amazon/1100-6525662/) |
| Setting | Several months (about six months) after the Joker's parade and death, between *Batman* (1989) and *Batman Returns* (1992)[3](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/10/17/five-batman-89-questions-that-are-answered-in-batman-resurrection) • [4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/09/27/the-new-abnormal-john-jackson-miller-talks-batman-resurrection) |
| Central threats | Remnants of the Joker's gang leading a campaign of arson, the lingering Smylex chemical-attack casualties, and a sinister orchestrator behind the chaos[5](https://www.everand.com/book/775789540/Batman-Resurrection) |
| New villain | The shapeshifting Clayface, adapted for the Burtonverse with a tragic origin[6](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/batman-revolution-introduces-new-riddler-author-important-two-deep-cut-villains) • [7](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/12/02/exclusive-batman-resurrection-s-clayface-comes-to-life-under-artist-joe-quinones) |
| Sequel | *Batman: Revolution* (October 21, 2025), in which Batman faces a new Riddler[8](https://www.dc.com/blog/2025-10-13/read-a-thrilling-excerpt-from-the-upcoming-batman-revolution) |
## Premise and plot
The novel opens about six months after the Joker's reign of terror ended. Gotham City is saved but still not safe. By night Batman protects the innocent; by day Bruce Wayne wonders whether there might be a future beyond rooftops and [Wayne Manor](https://www.edgepedia.org/wayne-manor). Remnants of the Joker's gang lead wannabe imitators on a campaign of arson that serves opportunists including the millionaire Max Shreck, while survivors of the Joker's chemical weapon Smylex continue to crowd Gotham City's main hospital.[5](https://www.everand.com/book/775789540/Batman-Resurrection)
Bruce Wayne acts in both of his identities. He sponsors a ward at Gotham General Hospital dedicated to the Smylex victims and works with the city, and one gifted doctor in particular, to help them recover; as the book's description puts it, this is a case where Bruce can act where Batman cannot.[3](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/10/17/five-batman-89-questions-that-are-answered-in-batman-resurrection) As his desire to save Gotham becomes an obsession, and the criminal underworld grows more organized under a hand behind the scenes, Batman confronts the central mystery: could the Joker somehow have survived their fateful encounter atop the cathedral?[5](https://www.everand.com/book/775789540/Batman-Resurrection)
**Answering old questions.** The book addresses loose ends from the 1989 film that had gone unanswered for decades. [Vicki Vale](https://www.edgepedia.org/vicki-vale) has left Gotham and Wayne Manor after accepting a story assignment without telling Bruce where she was going, for reasons the novel explores. Alexander Knox, who missed his chance at a byline on the Joker story, is back on the police beat and investigating a tip about an abandoned building. Bruce is also haunted by nightmares replaying the cathedral confrontation, asking whether the Joker uncovered his secret identity, a question Miller answers definitively.[3](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/10/17/five-batman-89-questions-that-are-answered-in-batman-resurrection) • [4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/09/27/the-new-abnormal-john-jackson-miller-talks-batman-resurrection)
The novel also plants threads leading into *Batman Returns*, such as Max Shreck's rise to power, and includes winks to the Penguin and Catwoman.[9](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/09/30/party-like-it-s-1989-why-tim-burton-s-batman-endures) • [3](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/10/17/five-batman-89-questions-that-are-answered-in-batman-resurrection)
## Place in the Burtonverse
Miller, a New York Times bestselling author known for [Star Wars](https://www.edgepedia.org/star-wars) and [Star Trek](https://www.edgepedia.org/star-trek) novels and comics, chose to write a direct sequel to the first film rather than follow the *Batman '89* comic series by Sam Hamm and Joe Quinones, which is set after *Batman Returns*.[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/09/27/the-new-abnormal-john-jackson-miller-talks-batman-resurrection) • [10](https://farawaypress.com/2024/04/11/return-to-1989-with-my-original-sequel-novel-to-tim-burtons-batman-batman-resurrection/) The three-year or more gap between the two films gave him room, and he deliberately left the story's exact date unspecified, placing it several months after the Joker's parade.[4](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/09/27/the-new-abnormal-john-jackson-miller-talks-batman-resurrection)
The two continuations can nonetheless be read together. Miller said he coordinated with DC and the *Batman '89* editor so that anyone wanting to view the novels and the comics as one continuum can do so, and the novel includes nods to the comic series.[11](https://www.dc.com/blog/2025-10-24/john-jackson-miller-stirs-up-a-batman-89-revolution) • [3](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/10/17/five-batman-89-questions-that-are-answered-in-batman-resurrection) *Batman: Resurrection* also brought comic-book villains into the Burton universe with new origin stories, most prominently Clayface, whose adaptation was later illustrated by *Batman '89* artist Joe Quinones for DC.[3](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/10/17/five-batman-89-questions-that-are-answered-in-batman-resurrection) • [7](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/12/02/exclusive-batman-resurrection-s-clayface-comes-to-life-under-artist-joe-quinones)
## Sequel and reception
The novel went on sale October 15, 2024, and a sequel, *[Batman: Revolution](https://www.edgepedia.org/batman-revolution)*, followed on October 21, 2025, continuing the story with a new Riddler, Norman Pinkus, a character whose copy-boy appearance in the 1989 film the two novels flesh out.[1](https://farawaypress.com/fiction/batmanresurrection/) • [8](https://www.dc.com/blog/2025-10-13/read-a-thrilling-excerpt-from-the-upcoming-batman-revolution) • [6](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/batman-revolution-introduces-new-riddler-author-important-two-deep-cut-villains) Together the two books form Miller's duology set between *Batman* and *Batman Returns*.[6](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/batman-revolution-introduces-new-riddler-author-important-two-deep-cut-villains)
Reviews were broadly favorable to the concept. Batman-On-Film described it as a detective story with a heaping of noir;[12](https://batman-on-film.com/22766/batman-reserrection-review/) We Got This Covered called it "the thrilling novelization of a 1990s Tim Burton movie you never saw";[13](https://wegotthiscovered.com/books/review-batman-resurrection-restores-michael-keatons-dark-knight-to-his-former-gothic-noir-glory/) and the Starburst review placed it as a more conventional story set in the interim months between the films.[14](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/batman-resurrection/) Some critics found the tone more grounded than Burton's, with one reviewer judging it a successful sequel narratively though less successful at capturing the film's specific fantasy tone.[15](https://www.outoflives.net/2026/03/31/batman-resurrection-is-a-fun-but-misguided-prose-sequel-to-tim-burtons-poetic-batman/) Miller said the project came about when [Random House](https://www.edgepedia.org/random-house) editor Tom Hoeler found a way to license the world, something he had never imagined possible.[10](https://farawaypress.com/2024/04/11/return-to-1989-with-my-original-sequel-novel-to-tim-burtons-batman-batman-resurrection/)
## References
1. [Batman: Resurrection, Faraway Press (John Jackson Miller's official site)](https://farawaypress.com/fiction/batmanresurrection/)
2. [Batman '89 Official Sequel Novel Released This Week, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/articles/batman-89-official-sequel-novel-released-this-week-get-a-nice-discount-at-amazon/1100-6525662/)
3. [Five Batman '89 Questions That are Answered in "Batman: Resurrection", DC.com](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/10/17/five-batman-89-questions-that-are-answered-in-batman-resurrection)
4. [The New Abnormal: John Jackson Miller Talks "Batman: Resurrection", DC.com](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/09/27/the-new-abnormal-john-jackson-miller-talks-batman-resurrection)
5. [Batman: Resurrection (ebook description), Everand](https://www.everand.com/book/775789540/Batman-Resurrection)
6. [Batman: Revolution Introduces A New Riddler..., CinemaBlend](https://www.cinemablend.com/interviews/batman-revolution-introduces-new-riddler-author-important-two-deep-cut-villains)
7. ["Batman: Resurrection's" Clayface Comes to Life Under Artist Joe Quinones, DC.com](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/12/02/exclusive-batman-resurrection-s-clayface-comes-to-life-under-artist-joe-quinones)
8. [Read a Thrilling Excerpt From the Upcoming "Batman: Revolution", DC.com](https://www.dc.com/blog/2025-10-13/read-a-thrilling-excerpt-from-the-upcoming-batman-revolution)
9. [Party Like It's 1989: Why Tim Burton's Batman Endures, DC.com](https://www.dc.com/blog/2024/09/30/party-like-it-s-1989-why-tim-burton-s-batman-endures)
10. [Return to 1989 with my original sequel novel..., Faraway Press](https://farawaypress.com/2024/04/11/return-to-1989-with-my-original-sequel-novel-to-tim-burtons-batman-batman-resurrection/)
11. [John Jackson Miller Stirs Up a Batman '89 Revolution, DC.com](https://www.dc.com/blog/2025-10-24/john-jackson-miller-stirs-up-a-batman-89-revolution)
12. [BATMAN: RESURRECTION Review, Batman-On-Film](https://batman-on-film.com/22766/batman-reserrection-review/)
13. [Review: 'Batman: Resurrection' restores Michael Keaton's Dark Knight..., We Got This Covered](https://wegotthiscovered.com/books/review-batman-resurrection-restores-michael-keatons-dark-knight-to-his-former-gothic-noir-glory/)
14. [BATMAN: RESURRECTION, Starburst Magazine](https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/batman-resurrection/)
15. [Batman: Resurrection Is a Fun but Misguided Prose Sequel..., Out Of Lives](https://www.outoflives.net/2026/03/31/batman-resurrection-is-a-fun-but-misguided-prose-sequel-to-tim-burtons-poetic-batman/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Creative written works and worlds › Adaptations, tie-ins, and fictional worlds › Tie-in and franchise novels › TV and film tie-in novels: further franchises*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license